Pipeline company plans to expand gas flow capacity in Pike County

The Columbia Gas Transmission company will increase the capacity of gas that flows through its pipeline in part by modifying existing infrastructure in Milford and in Sparrowbush, N.Y.

BETH BRELJE

The Columbia Gas Transmission company will increase the capacity of gas that flows through its pipeline in part by modifying existing infrastructure in Milford and in Sparrowbush, N.Y.

As part of Columbia's East Side Expansion project, the company proposes replacing the existing Milford compressor station on Schocopee Road in Milford with two solar turbine-driven centrifugal compressors, each with 3,500 horsepower.

Columbia will also upgrade compressor station piping and metering facilities and the adjacent Tennessee Gas Pipeline connection will be expanded to allow an incremental flow into the Columbia Line.

Work will be located within Columbia's property or existing right-of-way.

The Wagoner Interconnect and metering station at Sparrowbush will be modified at the existing connection with the Millennium Pipeline to provide additional service.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission will hold an open house for affected land owners to explain the project, from noon to 2 p.m. Monday at Mt. Haven Resort, 108 Mt. Haven Drive in Milford.

The larger East Side Expansion project will upgrade existing facilities to increase deliveries to Mid-Atlantic markets by 310,000 dekatherms per day.

The East Side Expansion project is anticipated to be in service by fall of 2015, according to the Columbia website.

Both Columbia and Tennessee were cited with multiple environmental violations when building now-completed pipelines that traverse Pike and surrounding counties. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection said it would wait to fine the companies until after the projects were done and all violations could be assessed and added together. But as both companies move forward with expansion projects, the DEP still has not levied fines for the completed projects.

The DEP is still working with Tennessee Gas Pipeline and Columbia Gas Transmission to see how many violations each company had, DEP spokeswoman Colleen Connolly said Tuesday.